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DOYLE DIETZ / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Outdoors writer and lecturer Tom Tatum of West Chester is a firm believer in the proper use of scents for success during the archery deer season.

Tom Tatum not only talks — or, in his case, writes — the game, the award-winning past president of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association is successful playing the game.

Tatum believes that the earliest part of the season can and should be the most productive time to be in the woods for any bowhunter even if having to cope with the impact of other bowhunters. He believes the only thing any individual bowhunter can do is to tend to his own business and hope other bowhunters do the same.

Scouting during the preseason, but not too much scouting, is important because too many trips into a buck’s home territory are usually counterproductive. At this late date the likelihood of putting deer on alert outweighs any last-minute information to be gained.

“This is one of those no-brainers often overlooked, and after one or two trips most bowhunters should have a fair sense of where they want to be when the sun rises on opening day,” Tatum said. “More than one or two scouting trips can put deer on the alert, especially when hunting public land open to other hunters.

“Actually, many bowhunters who are consistently successful are those who have planned well in advance, and I mean well in advance, and began their preseason scouting after the end of last year’s seasons. That’s the time to take note of rubs, scrapes and other evidence that are indicators of a buck’s habits heading into the new season.”

In many of his seminars Tatum stresses that a lot of successful bowhunters are those who have common sense as it relates to the proper use of scents. When scouting and hunting he always wears a masking — or cover — scent.

Not that many years ago hunters had little choice other than purchasing national products through the mail or hope those purchased at sporting goods stores came off shelves recently stocked. Now there are many reputable lure and scent manufacturers located in Pennsylvania, included Heated Hunts located in Clarks Summit.

Company president and founder Jonathan Kalasinski debuted his complete line of natural and synthetic products to area sportsmen at the recent Lehigh Valley Hunting and Fishing Extravaganza at Kempton Fairgrounds. Both the cover and attractant scents are designed to be used in his patented Heated Hunts dispenser or applied to clothing in the case of cover scents or used to make mock scrapes.

All the natural scents are rated to be 99 percent sediment free and use 100 percent fresh urines for a cleaner scent with a stronger aroma. Synthetic scents are crafted blends designed to mimic natural scents and are designed for whitetail deer, but testing has shown great successes with other deer species such as mule, blacktail and fallow — as well as elk.

“I believe fox and raccoon scents are best, with fox being the choice if you’re staying on the ground; raccoon if you’re climbing into trees,” Tatum said. “No scent masks better than skunk, but a word of advice in that many years ago, before I knew better, I spent too many unsuccessful seasons using skunk to disguise my own odor.

“Deer snorted me and avoided me like, well, like they would avoid a real skunk. Today, raccoon is my masking scent of choice, and many bowhunters I know also use scent removers or earth scents in tandem with or in place of masking scents.

“Always wear clean rubber boots because leather boots or cloth sneakers will track human odor all over the place. Rubber boots, especially those treated with scent removers or masking scents, will help your visits to the woods stay relatively undetected.”

If possible wear clean, unscented clothes and never put scouting or hunting clothes into a dryer with scented sheets of static-guard, fabric softener or other such products. Tatum washes his hunting clothes with baking powder, then stores them in a plastic bag with earth-scented wafers or other scent suppressing products in the weeks leading up to opening day.

During hunting season, hunters should avoid bathing or showering with scented soaps and using aftershave lotion or cologne. Tatum often reminds his bowhunting friends that smart bucks live and die by their nose and their job is to see that the latter happens.

Information about scents and lures by Heated Hunts is available by accessing the website at www.heatedhunts.com, calling (570) 871-0032 or visiting on Facebook.

Contact the writer: outdoors

@republicanherald.com.

2017-18 Archery Deer Seasons

One antlered deer is permitted during the license year. One antlerless deer is permitted with each required antlerless license.

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